Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter have, needless to say, predominated over the music news for the duration of this past month or so, even making deathly black headlines in the wake of the untimely demise of sporadic collaborator Anthony Moore, aka Romanthony. The vocalist eminently immortalised on what remains arguably their most stellar hit to date in One More Time, it therefore feels somewhat fitting that the truly blinding instances of galactic brilliance here compiled should be those which feature the multifarious, if in some cases questionable vocal talents of contemporary players from Julian Casablancas, to Noah Lennox. [...]
Back in his native Australia Matt Corby’s last EP, 2011′s Into The Flame , went quadruple platinum, not bad for a 23-year-old who finished second on Australian Idol in 2007. Boasting model looks, a voice that could melt butter and being backed by the ever-wonderful people at Communion we’re gonna state the obvious and say the future looks incredibly bright for Mr Corby over here on these shores. After a plethora of EPs throughout the last few years, it would appear that Corby is finally knuckling down on a proper debut album. Today he releases [...]
"Not enough has emerged to be able to pinpoint whether MS MR are the real deal or predictable bullshit. One thing’s for sure though, they’re pretty MOR..." MS MR | Secondhand Rapture The elusive MS MR are part of the latest gloom brigade to break out from the waiting room of future talent, and as with most hyped-up fledging acts they have been charged with the over-familiar fate of ‘saving pop’. Their entry into the musicsphere was in the same vein as Lana Del Rey; opting not to release too much information too early on, letting [...]
"Get inside, and light it, see cash/ Cross your legs, break your neck." So trills When Saints Go Machine's Nikolaj Manuel Vonsild during Love And Respect – the Killer Mike-featuring opener to their third full-length record, Infinity Pool . We're diving in at the deep end; joining the great Danish eccentrics on another voyage across the bedazzling spectrum of pop surreality. But as the album ignites, has it taken a turn for the darker, and indeed more oppressive as the lead single appears to suggest? With lyrics of snapped rachides [...]
"Crystal Fighters have one of the top albums of the summer, and possibly even of all 2013, so there can be no doubt that they got it right…even if it did take them almost three years..." Crystal Fighters | Cave Rave It is fairly routine for a band’s sound to evolve in between their initial album and subsequent efforts. This is especially true when the band in question take a lengthier period of time in crafting their follow-up, such as the three years it took for Crystal Fighters to create Cave Rave . Successor to [...]
The Weeknd's Abel Tesfaye is finally readying the release of his debut album proper, after the mixtape sagas of 2011 and 2012. 'Kiss Land' - the title track from it - is the first glimpse we've been given. A sprawling, eight-minute epic, it is a fascinating listen complete with twists and turns, odd samples and of course, Tesfaye's mesmerising croon. Amazingly, earlier this year The Weeknd announced an arena tour of the UK, a bold move for such a new artist but it pretty much encapsulates the confidence that drips throughout his work. Listen [...]
Every now and then a first single comes around that is so assured, so positive, so damn good that it stops you in your tracks. LA four-piece Smallpools have just unleashed one of them. Let's get this straight, 'Dreaming' isn't going to change the world - it's not trying to - but it is going to put a spring in the step and a smile on the face of an awful lot of people. It's had 20,000 plays on Soundcloud in 2 days for Pete's sake. Pete will probably like it too. 'Dreaming' is a near [...]
There aren't many things more on trend right now than a Brooklyn synth-pop duo, which is good news for Holy Ghost because that happens to be exactly what they are. Having impressed with 20112s self-titled debut album the pair are back armed with a new record, Dynamics , set for release this autumn. It's first single, 'Dumb Disco Ideas', is a glorious, glorious thing. It starts in modest LCD Soundsystem-esque pop song trappings and over the course of its eight minutes develops into something utterly transcendent. The video, which delightfully uses New York [...]
San Fransisco duo The Dodos release new album, Carrier , in August and have today unveiled it's first single, 'Confidence'. The release is the first of the band's since the passing of touring guitarist Christopher Reimer in February of last year and singer Meric Long has explained the influence of Reimer on the new material. “Chris was a huge influence on the way I think about guitar, songwriting, and music in general,” reveals Long. “Seeing how he could transform and shape sound with an electric guitar inspired me to [...]
Oxford four-piece MMX released their debut EP earlier this year. A collection of ice cold synth-pop beauties, these are dark diamonds that shine very brightly. The group have just unveiled a video for it's closing track, 'Ritual'. The monchrome clip sees the band perform the track in near darkness, which nicely captures the sound of this nocturnal noise. The track itself is strong. Shards of synth and spacey guitar weave in and out of each other underneath an emotive, soaring vocal. Basically, it's really good yeh. MMX's Child EP is out now [...]
In just under a week The 1975 release the last of four EPs that will preceed their debut album, scheduled for release in September. We've already heard the EP's thumping lead single, 'The City' - which we were very honoured to premiere - as well as the echoey dream-pop of 'Haunt // Bed' . Now comes 'fallingforyou'. When we've chatted with the band they've been keen to express that these EPs showcase two very different sides of the band: the radio friendly and the opaque; the atmospheric. This certainly falls into the latter [...]
There's an inimitable off-kilt pop dexterity to all that Nikolaj Manuel Vonsild's When Saints Go Machine contrive to fabric, and no longer is Iodine merely 'a chemical element with symbol I and atomic number 532 but instead also a massive splash from the Danes' forthcoming third, Infinity Pool . It's a record which, released in conjunction with EMI, may see the Scandinavian eccentrics enter into a more widespread cognisance and along with the Killer Mike-featuring Love And Respect , Iodine is an incontrovertible highlight that serves as a nebulous billow of avant-garde suavity pumped out of the experimental [...]
"A slow burning effort dripping with paranoia and heartbreak that combines elements of the anthemic with the subtle craft of storytelling and sees the group propel themselves past 2009’s critically acclaimed High Violet..." The National | Trouble Will Find Me Perhaps it is unfair to compare a band’s latest output solely against their back catalogue, after all, everyone evolves, but with the breakthrough Boxer and its successful follow-up High Violet expectations behind this, the New York quintet's sixth studio album, were always going to be exceptionally high. The 13 tracks [...]
London duo Big Deal - made up for of yank Kacey Underwood and the homegrown Alice Costelloe - release their debut album in June, and in anticipation have released new track 'Dream Machines' to the wider world. As expected from previous singles, 'Dream Machines' is heavy on the guitars but whereas previous offerings have been grungy, down-strummed chords, this almost flutters by on an intoxicating, chiming pattern. Throughout, Underwood and Costelloe trade vocals in classic style and the whole things bubbles with the energy of a band about to to make a definite breakthough. [...]
"While solo projects aren’t always for everyone (just ask Ace Frehley), Rubin proves he’s a steady enough hand to steer. ..." The New Regime | Exhibit A Ambition is often a dangerous word for artists. Sure, creativity is a good thing (and hard to come by), but more often than not it seems many artists get a bit carried away. In this regard, The New Regime (TNR) is truly a strange beast. As the side-solo project of Ilan Rubin (NIN, Angels & Airwaves, Paramore), TNR deftly manages and blends his various genre experiences to create a [...]
"A slow burning effort dripping with paranoia and heartbreak that combines elements of the anthemic with the subtle craft of storytelling and sees the group propel themselves past 2009’s critically acclaimed High Violet..." The National | Trouble Will Find Me Perhaps it is unfair to compare a band’s latest output solely against their back catalogue, after all, everyone evolves, but with the breakthrough Boxer and its successful follow-up High Violet expectations behind this, the New York quintet's sixth studio album, were always going to be exceptionally high. The 13 tracks [...]
New York four-peice release their second album, Limits of Desire , today - our review is coming soon, we promise - and to celebrate the group have unveiled its second single, the utterly beautiful 'No Stranger'. Built around woozy synths and shards of icy guitar before singer Josh Kolenik's distintive, casual vocal enters this perfectly organised party. In more bizarre news, the group have teamed up with Stillwater Brewery to create an eponymous beer, which has taken it's inspiration from album track 'Breathless'. It will, according to Stillwater's chief brewer, Brian Stillwater, be "a [...]
We're very fond of Battleships. Ever since the Australian four-piece sent over their debut single - the woozy 'In Retrospect' - in June of last year, we've been taken by their razor sharp guitars and collosal, arena-ready sound. The follow-up single, 'Your Words' was argueably better still. Having released their first mini-album last year, they've found time to ready another single from it - the epic, soaring 'As You'd Begun'. It neatly sums up what make this band loveable. The drums are beefy, the guitars shimmer, and Jordan Sturdee's distinctive vocals flutter delightfully over the top [...]
It's been quite some time since we heard anything from The Kissaway Trail. 20102s Sleep Mountain was a delicious slab of swelling guitars, warm melodies and ice cold group vocals. Their new album, Breach , is due out later this year, and its first single has been given the video treatment. Speaking of the new clip, which was shot in his hometown that the song takes its name from, singer and guitarist Thomas Fagerlund explains: “ Nørrebro has meant a great deal to me for the last three years of my life. I wanna show [...]
Ascot isn't known as a musical mecca, but that's not stopping teenage three-piece Febueder from aiming to put it on the map. And they may well do so, as 'Galeo' - the first single from their upcoming Soap Carv EP - is a delicious slice of shapeshifting, alt-indie. There is a stark, undeniable resemblance to Alt-J in its delivery but this is playful too - just listen to girlish whoops that accompany the half-time chorus - and sounds like the work of three young men with talent and songcraft beyond their years. [...]
Dots & Dashes
When The Gramophone Rings
MP3: Daft Punk – “Horizons” (RAM Japanese Bonus Track)
[Listen] Daft Punk - "Horizon" (Japanese Bonus Track)
Mix/Cover/Live #887 (feat. Yalls & more)
Ta-Ku
Le Fever :: "White Hearts"
